Posted on 10/05/2004 1:47:53 PM PDT by NewMediaFan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An external review of how CBS News came to use disputed documents in a report on President Bush (news - web sites)'s military record will probably not be concluded until after the November election so as not to interfere with the presidential race, a top executive said on Tuesday.
Les Moonves, the co-president of CBS parent company Viacom, told an analyst meeting that the review of the CBS "60 Minutes II" report being done by former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and retired Associated Press chief Louis Boccardi had no timetable for completion. But he said he did not want it to interfere with the Nov. 2 election.
"Obviously, it should be done probably after the election is over so that it doesn't affect what's going on," he told a Goldman Sachs media conference in New York.
A CBS spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the statement. But she pointed out that when CBS News President Andrew Heyward named Boccardi and Thornburgh to conduct the investigation of the Sept. 8 report, he said he hoped it would be completed in weeks rather than months.
The CBS report alleged that Bush had received special treatment while serving in he Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
The report also produced documents purportedly written by Bush's Guard commander complaining that he was pressured to "sugar coat" Bush's record -- but the man who gave the documents to CBS later admitted that he lied about its origins and serious questions have been raised over their authenticity.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
Then CBS withdraws the story, but does not flat out admit that the documents were forged. No one gets fired. Now this is being investigated. And the investigation will be held off until after the election, so as "not to influence the election."
Helloooo. So the official policy of CBS is to help Kerry, but not to help Bush. And they say they are not biased? Check another thread for a poll just out that shows CBS behind both local news and PBS as a preferred source of election coverage.
So by continuing to act in a self-desctructive way, CBS is destroying both its audience and its brand name. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.
Congressman Billybob
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"But he said he did not want it to interfere with the Nov. 2 election."
Major policy change for CBS. Where'd that come from?
Typical... Bush in a landslide anyway .... so like it really mattered it will just erase CBS from the broadcast news source.... I see CBS bankruptcy in 05....
This is incredible! Those bastards! No more Viacom for me (except for Southpark and football).
Are they actually saying that hiding the truth from the public is a good thing? Who are they to decide when to publish the results? More stonewalling. Maybe CBS will wait for several years until Dan has long retired before they announce the findings.
This is a bunch of bull....It sure the hell was okay for them to air fraudulent documents about Bush. I am SICK of the MSM and what makes me even SICKER is the arrogance they our showing by out and out blasting the President ever night with the seletions of polls that just favor Kerry or half stories that make viewer believe something that isn't true. I wish they all would tank in the ratings or maybe we need to do more emailing of sponsors.
How stupid would the GOP have to be to wait until CBS finishes its own investigation of itself to take to the air with the obvious? Here it is:
Dan Rather, Mary Mapes, and CBS were so desperate to smear President Bush that they accepted forged documents (documents which were created and "back-doored" to them by Democrat operatives) in order to embellish and support their interview with a big-time Kerry fundraiser, Ben Barnes, for a '60 Minutes' hit piece.
In that interview Barnes made damaging accusations about the President's National Guard service (accusations which Barnes' own daughter says are lies and which directly contradict earlier statements made by Barnes) and was immediately rewarded with a phone call from Kerry campaign director Cahill who congratulated barnes on the interview.
The accusations were also thoroughly denied by President Bush's Air National Guard commanders and colleagues, and by the son and wife of the alleged author of the forged memos. The '60 Minutes producer, Mapes, went out of her way to make sure that there were no opposing views presented in the hit piece.
The '60 Minutes' hit piece was coordinated with, and immediately followed by, a ready-to-roll Democrat advertisement campaign called "Fortunate Son" and planned tirades by Democrat politicians including Senator Harkin.
There you have it, in a nutshell. So why isn't the "investigation" concluded yet? Because it is a whitewash in progress which is designed to protect the Kerry campaign, that's why. And the Republicans are fools if they plan to wait for the coverup to be completed before they blast the obvious to television audiences in a TV ad campaign. The corrupt and crooked CBS and Dan Rather need to be buried NOW, not later.
It's just their usual MO again....
Harping on hateful fabrications is OK, investigating the truth is not.
Exactly ... and rest assured that's the way the investigation process is leading.
CBS - you have no standing to be a moderater at the debates since you have proved yourselves to be immoderate!
bump
What do they do anyways... spend that 280 mil on putting asses in seats at desks.?. Forget CBS... I'd like an investigation into EXACTLY WHAT the FCC does and doesn't do....
Let's hope the Texas Rangers can move faster than this.
"Obviously, it should be done probably after the election is over so that it doesn't affect what's going on,"
OMFG! You already affected whats going on a**-****! Now it's time to make right!
Nice "independent investigation" taking their direction right from the president of CBS. What a Crock of B S.
I agree. They say people need to look at Edwards as being a heartbeat away, but we all know that a death in office isn't the only way to elevate someone to the highest office.
Quite predictable, actually. If CBS waits long enough, public memory will fade.
Yeah, that is what bothers me to no end. If Edwards were in office I think we would have the White House suing people that they did not like. j/k
Seriously though tonight will be a big indicator of what Mr. Edwards will be like, and as is I don't like that thought of him as VP much less if he was get the office.
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